Leaving a gun loaded question

Zeke · Jun 24, 2016

LAST EDITED ON Jun-24-16 AT 12:17PM (MST)[p]So gents, how long is acceptable to leave BH209 loaded in my muzzleloaded? (sorry if this has been covered already. I'm a newbie at muzzleloaders)

I have a 9 day hunt and have no idea how long it will take before I pop a cap at a deer.

Is it BEST to shoot it every night and reload every morning or is it copacetic to leave it loaded the whole hunt? Or should I shoot it and Reload it every other day or every 3 days? Please share some help.

Thanks in advance for your insight and wisdom!

Zeke

Blank · Jun 24, 2016

Do a great job cleaning it before your season, and don't worry too much. My experiences are all with Pyrodex "P" tho, so you might see differing results with BH209. I leave mine loaded for many days or even several weeks at a time, during early antelope or deer season, with absolutely no impact change or degradation in performance. I am anal tho about shooting and cleaning it, if it has been very wet or cold, and would rather be safe than sorry on a late hunt.

As an experiment one time, I loaded a clean rifle at the end of the season and left it for an entire year, to see the effect on performance by age. Fired perfectly with a new cap, and I went right back to using it with no issues.

Zeke · Jun 24, 2016

Great info Blank.
Quite a test you did with leaving it loaded.
I agree that if it's wet or even really humid, better safe than sorry! Good advice.
Anyone else using BH 209 that can share too?
Zeke

Deerlove · Jun 24, 2016

I get nervous if it's been a week or so. As long as it's dry should be no problem.

Zeke · Jun 24, 2016

>I get nervous if it's been
>a week or so.
>As long as it's dry
>should be no problem.

I agree, maybe a week wouldn't be a problem unless weather was on the wet side... then I'd do every day.

Unless I hear differently, I'll plan on every 3rd day just to cleat it's throat and make sure everything is working.

Good info.

Zeke

Idahoron · Jun 24, 2016

I am another one that uses Pyrodex P. I have left mine for up to 13 days. In that time we had rain. It worked fine.

Blank · Jun 24, 2016

One thing I did forget to say about leaving it loaded is a safety issue with me. Every morning I replace the cap with a brand new one, and while un-capped I will check that the bullet is still seated properly on the load. I carry my rifle muzzle up when walking, and it rides in a vehicle or boat muzzle-up, to prevent ever displacing the bullet off the powder.

Idahoron · Jun 24, 2016

That is what I do.

Zeke · Jun 25, 2016

Checking the bullet seating after jostling around isn't something I would have thought about, even though I'm pretty careful to make sure everything is consistent. Great safety and accuracy tip!

It's all new information to me and I'm thankful that you guys who know so much will share!

Zeke

tailchasers · Jun 25, 2016

All I use is BH209. Longest I have waited between shots is 3 days and the weather was warm and dry September in the Rockies. I have had a couple hangfires over the years but feel they all were due to the bullet/power charge not being packed well. I have since learned to watch this with greater scrutiny and have started to pack my charge 2x a day without experiencing a single hangfire since doing this. Seems BH moves around a bit over time and needs a firm tamp during the hunt. Not sure if it's due to the cut or what.

I had a couple of loaded speed loaders left in my truck over the winter too a few seasons ago. Rather than throw the charge out I ran it through the gun just to see how it performed. Shot just like fresh powder out of a new can. This leads me to believe that BH is rather resistant to moisture as I have to believe there had to have been some moisture get into them speed loaders from freezing and thawing.

Whenever I am sceptical about the load though I will dump the charge and start fresh.

"Courage is being scared to death but
saddling up anyway."

Gator · Jun 27, 2016

Put a balloon over the barrel will keep out any moisture on that end, Keeping a primer in the should keep moisture from that end.
That should keep you up and ready to shoot.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
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Zeke · Jun 27, 2016

10-4 on the balloon trick. I've used it for years on CF rifles and I think you're right, it would be even more appropriate on a muzzleloader.

I really like the tip about checking bullet seating depth periodically. It's a matter of consistency and safety.

Thanks again to all you guys have contributed your knowledge and experience!
Zeke

sjhgraysage · Jun 27, 2016

Zeke,
Ron Laughlin on the modern muzzleloader forum has used a lot of Blackhorn powder and buys it in five pound jugs. He at one time shot a rifle with this powder and did not clean the barrel for weeks/months thinking the powder fouling would not cause any corrosion. He ended up with a slightly pitted barrel that he regretted.
Moral of that story is to clean your gun after firing no matter which powder you use.

On the other hand it sounds like your subject is how long can a load be left in an unfired gun? IMHO With Blackhorn or any other powder, as long as it remained relatively dry I would not have a problem leaving a unfired gun loaded for the entire hunt/season.

Zeke · Jun 27, 2016

It's just as important for me to learn the "do-not's" as it is to learn the "do's".

Note to self: don't fire the gun and leave residue in the barrel for extended periods even though it's not "real" black powder.

Thanks,
Zeke

mntman · Jun 27, 2016

I am afraid of a miss fire after my dad's experience on his 2014 UT bull. He loaded his night before (granted not 209 but white hots), that next afternoon he had a miss fire on his bull, we had to sneak back in behind the brush to clear it reload then shoot. Yes he got it but scared me to the point that I clear mine every night and reload in morning. Might be excessive and don't know property differences between white hots and BH209 but I'd rather know it will for sure fire instead of seeing that animal of a life time run off.

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"

Zeke · Jun 28, 2016

>I am afraid of a miss
>fire after my dad's experience
>on his 2014 UT bull.
>He loaded his night before
>(granted not 209 but white
>hots), that next afternoon he
>had a miss fire on
>his bull, we had to
>sneak back in behind the
>brush to clear it reload
>then shoot. Yes he got
>it but scared me to
>the point that I clear
>mine every night and reload
>in morning. Might be excessive
>and don't know property differences
>between white hots and BH209
>but I'd rather know it
>will for sure fire instead
>of seeing that animal of
>a life time run off.
>
>
>
>Mntman
>
>"Hunting is where you prove yourself"
>

I remember that story about your dad's hunt.

That would be tragic and usually a second attempt is not possible and misfires are not unheard of with front-stuffers! No doubt ML's are more temperamental than a center fire rifle and extra care must be taken. That level of "extra care" is what I'm trying to figure out before I hear the "click".

Thanks,
Zeke

mntman · Jun 28, 2016

Personally I'd clear it each night and load in morning. However sounds like from above posters you can get away with leaving it loaded for multiple days and be ok most of the time. Sure would suck to have that .01% chance happen and watch a monster run away from a easy chip shot

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"

Cahunter805 · Jul 6, 2016

Zeke

I've left my muzzleloader loaded with bh209 for over 3 months and still fired. I remove the primer but that's it. Clean it good before your hunt and fire a few primers to blow any leftover residue out. Then load it and go kill a big buck!

Zeke · Jul 6, 2016

Good info Cahunter805!
I think I have a bit more work to do on the load. It's shooting really really well and velocity is excellent but I've been "fouling" the bore before I begin shooting a group....like I do with a hunting CF, and I hunt with them "seasoned".
I know the velocity is LOWER with a clean bore vs a seasoned bore. I guess the fouling creates a bit of back-pressure and hence the velocity difference.
I'll have to shoot, clean, shoot, clean and repeat until I know it will group well and deliver the speed that I want. I can always use a bit more powder and stay well within recommended amounts.
I guess I'd better hunt with a clean dry bore for rust prevention and the best reliability (which is of paramount importance).
Thanks everyone for the valuable input.
Lots of great tips and tricks!
Zeke

Cahunter805 · Jul 6, 2016

Zeke
Here is what I do. Clean the barrel with some hoppes #9 or boretech eliminator and scrub it good. Patch it clean and then fire a few primers to blow out anything else. When you get to your hunt fire a sight in shot to confirm zero and then load it and go hunt. If you don't fire it during your hunt which I know you will then just fire it or unload before you leave.

Zeke · Jul 7, 2016

That sounds about right (but I'm such a muzzleloader rookie that anything would sound right. ha)
.
You're using and suggesting the process that I (am) was going to use but didn't want to corrode my bore or degrade my powder charge..

I guess I could shoot the load out part way through the hunt, clean it, fire once to re-check zero and load it back up. I suppose this way I'd catch any little issue before it becomes a big problem.

I'm planning on 9 days but ya never know when a good deer hunt will end.

Thanks again,
Zeke

Cahunter805 · Jul 7, 2016

Zeke
BH209 is much cleaner than black powder or any pellets. You will be fine with firing one or two shots to check zero and then hunting the 9 days. Unless it's raining a lot.
What combo are you shooting right now? I'd highly recommend Barnes 290tmz with harvester sabots.

Zeke · Jul 7, 2016

When I bought my Rem Ultimate I also bought a bunch of the Rem Accutip/Barnes 250 with the factory green sabot and they shot Okay. Best was a 5 shot 1.5" group but the average group is closer to 2.25" whether it's clean or fouled between shots.

I shot the Match Hunter Parker bullets and they shot not so good but my inventory was very limited so not a great test.

Bob Parker recommended for me to try the 275 Ballistic Extreme since it was a deer hunt these would expand on deer more reliably than the Match Hunters at my velocities (2200 +/-). They shot well and when I switched to a tougher yellow TC super glide sabot, rather than the MMP short black, the rifle shot even more accurately. 95 by weight of BH209 (136 by volume) pushes this combo right at 2200 fps and I smile at the groups.

I'll try the Accutip Rem/Barnes with the TC super glide sabot and see if the results are better but only because I have lots of them. I'm pretty content with the 275 Parker's right now.

Zeke

diablo · Jul 15, 2016

You should be fine. BH209, as has been said, is very clean and stable. I leave my Savage loaded with it for weeks (sometimes months) - no problem. When I hunt with black powder, in Africa, I leave the rifle loaded for several days at a time. Hang/miss fire is not a worry, but fouling in the barrel is with BP. The only caveat, would be if it is raining/snowing, then I would probably reload if I had any suspicion that the powder got some moisture. I carry with tape over the muzzle.

As for checking that the bullet is still firm on the powder charge, you'd have to be shooting an awfully loose fitting bullet for that to be a worry. Mine are tight and I've never seen a bullet rattle off the charge. Can't hurt to check, though, I guess.

This is just my experience, in over 30 years of muzzleloading and more than 100 animals.

Good luck!!

__________________________________
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OldBear · Aug 13, 2016

I'll add my 2 cents. I think one of the things that can cause misfires in a muzzle loader is caused by condensation. I'd suggest to be aware of what temperature changes your steel gun barrel is going through. From a warm vehicle to cold, back to warm, this can cause moisture buildup on the inside of the barrel. When temperatures are staying consistent and no rain, I'll go a week without worrying. During late Winter hunts, I'll reload everyday.

elktaker · Sep 1, 2016

If it shoots good clean bore, clean it and load it for the whole hunt. If you shoot it, bh209 residue can collect moisture. It does not take much and you could have a slippery inside of your barrel that affects your poi or worst it will rust.